Sacred Dance of India

Author(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

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celestial flute-player and dancer (Natavara), as also the embodiment of the Erotic Sentiment. The Vedāntins always compared the experience of contemplation of a work of art as akin to the highest spiritual attainment.
Nowhere else has there been so clear a revelation of the inter-relation of philosophic thought and artistic concepts. Every image of religious significance is imbued with the spiritual duality of God and nature.
Krishna playing the flute-Mallika Sarabhai.
"Dancing was used", says the Vishnu Dharmottara (4th to 7th centuries), "to please the Gods in the temples and this art was of greater value than the joy experienced by those who meditated on Brahman, the Supreme One." And again, "Indeed the offering of a dance was more appreciated than flowers and other oblations."
Bharata Nātyam, as the dance form, has been handed down through the centuries by dance teachers called 'Nattuvanars' and ritualistic dancers, called 'Devadasis', in the temples of India. In the sacred atmosphere of the temple, the art developed and became a rite for realization through the enactment of movements dedicated to God. The 'Devadasis' were classified in categories of 'Rajadasis', who danced before the Dhwajasthambham (the sacred flag-staff of the temple); 'Alankaradasis', who performed for social events; 'Devadasis', who danced before the shrine in the temples; and the 'Swadasis', who performed the rituals for religious purposes, such as the Kumbhābhishekam*. There were also the handmaidens called 'Adukala Mahal', 'Nataka Mahal', 'Devar Kannigayar', whose sacred duties were fanning the image of God, lighting the 'Kumbha Arati' (sacred light), acting in fact as priestesses in the temple.
The dancer was first dedicated to the temple through a ceremony called
*NOTE : Consecrating an image by sprinkling water from a pot usually when installing the
image.